Abstract
BackgroundWe sought to examine prospectively the difference in the association between incident functional disability and exercise with or without sports organization participation.MethodsThe study was based on the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES) Cohort Study data. In October 2003, self-reported questionnaires were mailed to 29,374 non-disabled Japanese individuals aged 65 years or older. Of these, 13,310 individuals were introduced to the Study, and they were followed for 4 years. Analysis was carried out on 11,581 subjects who provided all necessary information for the analysis.ResultsAnalysis was carried out on incident functional disability by 4 groups of different combinations of performance of exercise and participation in a sports organization Active Participant (AP), Exercise Alone (EA), Passive Participant (PP) and Sedentary (S). Compared to the AP group, the EA group had a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.29 (1.02–1.64) for incident functional disability. No significant difference was seen with the PP group, with an HR of 1.16 (0.76–1.77). When a measure of social networks was added to the covariates, the HR of the EA group dropped to 1.27 (1.00–1.61), and significant differences disappeared. In contrast, it showed hardly any change when social support was added.ConclusionThe results suggested that, even with a regular exercise habit, incident functional disability may be better prevented when a person participates in a sports organization than when he/she does not. In addition, participation in a sports organization correlates positively with social networks, which may lead to a small decrease in incident functional disability.
Highlights
Over 1 in 5 people are 60 years or older in more developed regions today, and aging is predicted to advance in developing nations as well in the future, [1]
At 31.1% of the country’s population, Japan has the largest proportion of people who are 60 years and older in the world, and the number of older people with incident functional disability is increasing as society continues to age, [2]
Mean age was lowest in the Active Participant (AP) group and highest in the S group, with a difference of 2.8 years
Summary
Evaluation Study (AGES) Cohort Study data, [15,16]. This study involves investigating factors associated with incident functional disability among non-institutionalized elderly individuals aged 65 years or older. Analysis was carried out on 11,581 subjects, excluding 319 people whose information on age or sex was missing, and 1,410 people who did not respond to questions on frequency of exercise and participation in a sports organization. Covariates Based on previous studies, [8,9,10,11,18], age, sex, annual equivalent income, educational attainment, marital status, occupational status, self-reported medical conditions, depression (Geriatric Depression Scale: GDS), [19], smoking and alcohol consumption were used as covariates that may correlate with participation in a sports organization, performance of exercise and incident functional disability. SPSS 18.0J was used for statistical analysis with a significance level of 5%
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